[gandhisfist]

Looks like an excellent meet, sad I was out with the flu. Hope to catch the next one.

 

[kendavis]

The next meet or the next flu?

 

[gandhisfist]

After this one, I've certainly had enough flu for the year.

 

[PJABBER]

Sad to miss this one as well, the photos are true audio porn! Oh well, looking forward to the next one!

 

[dcguy73]

I wish I hadn't been sick for this meet. Lots of great photos. I will definitely be at the next one.

 

[gandhisfist]

I wish I hadn't been sick for this meet. Lots of great photos. I will definitely be at the next one.

Wow, quite a collection of gear you've got there. I'm especially interested in the RME ADI-2, how do you find it?

 

[dcguy73]

Wow, quite a collection of gear you've got there. I'm especially interested in the RME ADI-2, how do you find it?

It's an amazingly versatile piece of kit. For pro-level audio equipment not geared towards audiophiles, it sounds great. Very detailed with punchy and hard-hitting bass. There are many ways to tweak the sound to complement any pair of headphones. I still haven't explored all of its features. My favorite setup is to use it to power my Focal Elears through a heavy gauge silver cable. The Elears can have sloppy bass and smoothed-over treble, but with the ADI-2, their sound is much clearer and the bass is much tighter. The ADI-2 matches best with warmer headphones, as its level of detail can come across as rather analytical. But then again, it's easy to tweak that. The ADI-2 has a capable built-in amplifier -- I use it with my Electrocompaniet ECD-1 CD player, which is a good match -- but it sounds even better if you use its amp and DAC together from a decent source. The amplifier is pretty powerful, especially when running it in balanced mode.

I picked up a SBooster linear power supply to see if I could improve its sound further. Hard to tell so far, but I think it makes a difference.

I'll definitely bring it to the next DC meet.

 

[gandhisfist]

It's an amazingly versatile piece of kit. For pro-level audio equipment not geared towards audiophiles, it sounds great. Very detailed with punchy and hard-hitting bass. There are many ways to tweak the sound to complement any pair of headphones. I still haven't explored all of its features. My favorite setup is to use it to power my Focal Elears through a heavy gauge silver cable. The Elears can have sloppy bass and smoothed-over treble, but with the ADI-2, their sound is much clearer and the bass is much tighter. The ADI-2 matches best with warmer headphones, as its level of detail can come across as rather analytical. But then again, it's easy to tweak that. The ADI-2 has a capable built-in amplifier -- I use it with my Electrocompaniet ECD-1 CD player, which is a good match -- but it sounds even better if you use its amp and DAC together from a decent source. The amplifier is pretty powerful, especially when running it in balanced mode.

I picked up a SBooster linear power supply to see if I could improve its sound further. Hard to tell so far, but I think it makes a difference.

I'll definitely bring it to the next DC meet.

Thanks, looking forward to hearing it.

 

[dcguy73]

Hey DC-area folks, is there a place near DC or Baltimore that has headphones available for demo sessions?

I want to invest in a pair of higher-grade headphones a cut above the ones I have currently. I'm most interested in hearing the Hifiman X V2, Ether Flow and Focal Clear.

Thanks!

 

[gandhisfist]

Gramophone in Gaithersburg or Timonium and Urban Hifi in Silver Spring immediately come to mind for me.

 

[dcguy73]

Gramophone in Gaithersburg or Timonium and Urban Hifi in Silver Spring immediately come to mind for me.

Thanks. Between the two stores you suggested, I can demo most of the headphones I want to hear. Wish I could make the Philadelphia meet this weekend.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Who heard the Bottlehead amp?

 

[kamitaji]

Hey DC-area folks, is there a place near DC or Baltimore that has headphones available for demo sessions?

Gramophone in Timonium, MD. I went there a week ago. They had all 3 Focal headphones, the Edition X, B&W P9, all 3 AudioQuest, plus at least 20 other good headphones. All ready to connect to some good gear to audition. They left me alone in the candy store - zero sales pressure. I was able to connect/disconnect and test to my heart’s content.
Two issues though: the store music was distracting and the prices were not competitive with online ones (few can match online prices, so I’m not blaming them). But the Clear, one of your targets, was priced like all other places at $1,500.
Advice: don’t audition the Utopia if you want to exit with the Clear